Today we’d like to introduce you to James Sweigert.
Hi James, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Some people have asked, “How did you guys come up with Barlz?”. Well, here’s the story.
Jake Kirschenbaum grew up in Cocoa Beach Florida with parents who were surfers. Being surrounded by water, watersports, and activities were a daily thing, it was part of life. At a young age, Jake was very fond of fashion art and surfing being able to mold both of those together while modeling for Ralph Lauren, Disney and many others.
With both parents being artists, Jake always gravitated to creativity and the ability to express himself through art and surfing. At the age of 12, Jake began receiving sponsorships for surfing and started competing every weekend. This gave him the opportunity to see the world, different walks of life, fashion in other areas, and it opened his mind to the infinite possibilities of life. Jake was fortunate enough to spend many winters on the North Shore of Oahu surfing Pipeline, as well as traveling all over Australia, Indonesia, Central America, New Zealand, the Caribbean and the entire Eastern Coast of the US. Barlz has reinvigorated his love of surfing, fashion and community, and it is fulfilling his desire to create fun, cool, comfortable and affordable clothing for the surfing and beach lifestyles.
Right out of high school, James Sweigert headed to study at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. There, he studied everything from fashion illustration and textiles to color theory, marketing and advertising while improving his paddle-out skills at Ocean Beach. But all along, he dreamed of creating his own brand.
Fast forward to a milestone birthday, when James reached out to Jake to help set up a surf trip to the legendary Surf Ranch in Central California. Jake, who grew up surfing with Kelly Slater in Cocoa Beach, remained close with him and was able to make a call to help get the trip set up. As a designer, James created a custom hoodie for the entire crew to rock on their adventure.
Everything changed for the guys after seeing a photo of one of the members of the 1930s Manhattan Beach Surfing Club at the pier, on Encyclopedia of Surfing. Inspired, they whipped up a custom hoodie for the local crew at Tower 34, and before they knew it, everyone in the neighborhood wanted one.
One day, as the guys were doing their usual thing—cheering their friends on in the water, shouting out, “Let’s get BARLZ!” The idea stuck. The idea of a brand popped up, they grabbed the domain for $9.99, and immediately, the website was instantly valued at $2,500. They had turned a profit before they’d even sold a T-shirt and Barlz was born. The name Barlz is all about that pure stoke you get from cheering on your friends when it’s pumping – or not.
From a small bedroom in Manhattan Beach, California, Barlz was created with one simple goal: to make surf wear that is comfortable, stylish, affordable, and ethically made.
Barlz is where art and style meets the core surfer. Our mission is to create beautiful surf gear using comfy textiles, ethically made and affordable to the entire surf community.
We take Mother Nature seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We want you to be happy so we guarantee your satisfaction. If you are not happy with something let us know, you may return it and we will take care of you.
Let’s get you in some Barlz!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting the company was easy, when we came up with the name, we had no idea that a 5 letter URL .com would still be available in 2025. We bought it for $9. We immediately got an inbound email stating that our URL was now valued at $3500. We turned a profit and hadn’t sold a single t-shirt. We took that as a good omen.
The struggle is the one all businesses share, “How do we get the word out with all the clutter and noise?” Well, going to surf spots, sharing our stoke, sharing the gear, the Barlz vibe, there are worse ways of getting the word out. In the world surfing community, you must be authentic to survive, we are total “frothers” at our core and people see it and feel it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a designer at heart and have been since I could hold a pencil. I have been working with artists, animators, designers and creators my entire career. I think besides being at the forefront of computer graphics in Northern California where I was a part of the community of designers telling “computer engineers” what we needed, doing the R&D for 18 months to figure out how to create, design and animate video for the largest spherical LED screen in the world has to be one of the things I am most proud of. On July 4th, 2023, the Sphere in Las Vegas went live with our designs and animations for the grand opening. We continue to work with them to animate whimsical animations which people now see around the world through billions of unpaid impressions.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think I can specifically attribute this one thing to my reputation and success – I do what I say I am going to do when I say I am going to do it. I also practice the Four Agreements and ask my staff to as well. Our motto is “Always be kind, friendly and helpful.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Barlz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barlz_surf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Barlz/61572618055832/
Image Credits
Ken Pagliaro
